Why Study the Bible Discussion

Week 1

Week 1

by Audrey Morris -
Number of replies: 6

Good evening. Since Jim shared a bio I decided to reciprocate. I grew up Baptist/Free Methodist. Awana taught me to love the Bible. As a teen we joined an AoG after I learned American Sign Language and sought a Deaf community. Professionally, I've spent the past 20 years as an ASL Interpreter with experience in education, medical, and professional settings. I am eternally grateful for the Deaf community who encouraged me to pursue ASL. I'm a mom of 3 and have been serving in Kids ministry since my 2nd was 2 years old. The past 10 years have flown by! My oldest son is now a Small Group leader, my daughter is my go-to gal for everything, & my youngest son is still in Kids Ministry but helps with setup/tear down.

One of the biggest challenges I've experienced in recent years regarding Bible Study is the concept of reading the Bible as a text of its time and culture. Too often I've read/heard lessons that removed all of the culture of the Bible to find a pithy quotable that applies to our current time. I just recently learned about Bible dictionaries and historical analysis (through Youtube) and found a few texts. They are helping me to better understand the time, place, and culture of the ancient world. I’ve found a renewed interest in Bible study. This has helped to ease some areas of tension in my life and ministry as I seek to live out God's will for my life in this modern day & age. 

The area that I am experiencing the least understanding in Kids Ministry is point 3 of why we study the Bible: “because of (spiritual) formation.” The kids don’t have a solid grasp of the stories behind the traditions and beliefs we espouse. They lack a foundation of faith or connection with Scripture. So then they’re not turning to it as a resource for how they live today. I’m hopeful that this course will help me to be better equipped to help all of the kids who come through our doors to begin to see the connections between the stories, traditions, and activities we do and begin to desire more knowledge of their own.  

Since September, we’ve had a through-the-Bible series which has been well received. At this point I’m just trying to encourage them to read their Bibles more than at church – and we do pass out Bibles to anyone who needs one – many parents have shared that this has been encouraging them to read and study the Bible too. I love that we can talk about all 8 of the reasons we should study the Bible as they apply to Christians at every age.

In reply to Audrey Morris

Re: Week 1

by Jim Damman -
Audrey! So glad to read a former "LESA" staff member is taking this journey with me...
You spoke to something early in your post that I think is key to your passion - you mentioned falling in love with the Bible AS A KID. I find great value in that and when I look back at my faith journey a love for Scripture was not formed at a young age. I knew Bible stories (all the kid classics) but outside of Sunday school I was not encouraged to be present with the text...

I agree that quotes from the Bible have been reduced to "feel good sayings" (John 3:16, anyone?) that look nice on a social media post when coupled with a pretty background. God's children, especially those being called into a vocation that represents Him, should know MORE behind the words contained within the Bible - more than ever I am convinced that Biblical literacy should be a lifelong pursuit for Christians, not a box to check as a one-in-a-lifetime achievement...

Since you are at the helm of a children's ministry (and I have two toddlers who will one day soon be a part of our church's ministry I have a curiosity question for you: How do you evaluate the current church curriculum for Kids as it pertains to prioritizing the Bible as a constant companion and "falling in love" with it as you did? Do you see strengths or deficits in our current Kids curriculum?

Thank you for partnering parents on the journey to Biblical literacy with their children! I believe that to be so important since we only get these children 4 hours a month: how are you leveraging those 4 hours to equip parents to fill in the gaps when the kids are home? Best practices for parents?

I look forward to your response!
-JD
In reply to Jim Damman

Re: Week 1

by Audrey Morris -
Jim, Thank you for your questions! I've written a few different responses. I hope this one will provide some helpful insights.

Also, I feel like I need to put a disclaimer here, my response does not represent the entirety of the 242 Kids department. I do not speak for the organization. This is my personal answer based on the questions posed.

The Orange curriculum does provide resources to equip children and families to continue learning from the Bible throughout the week. Every week we send home devotional pages, Parent cue pages, along with the monthly memory verse magnet. We recently relaunched the Parent Cue App. Along with trying to meet people on other platforms like our Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify.

As someone newer to Kids ministry, I’ve not experienced other curriculums. Both churches my children have attended utilized Orange. I’ve not sought out other curriculums to be able to provide such an analysis. The best thing about our curriculum is the flexibility & encouragement for the leaders to share their faith. When leaders are on fire for God, living out their faith daily, and seeking ways to share with the kids/families that makes a huge difference. We, in Lansing, are striving to support our Kids Team leaders to be walking in their faith and sharing their stories with the kiddos. We've seen the most growth from kiddos who have faith support systems in their home & school lives. These kids are getting more than the 4 hours of exposure that we can provide. In terms of "falling in love" with the Bible, I was fortunate to have a Mom who loves Jesus, taught us praise songs, and brought us to church regularly. I had leaders in AWANA who loved God and the Bible (and honestly the sticker collecting didn’t hurt!). I had a Sunday School teacher who taught me that the Bible wasn’t written here in the Midwest, but in the Middle East with a unique people and culture so very different from my own. It wasn’t a curriculum, but the people who fostered a love for the Bible that encouraged me. It would be ideal to have the kids 4 hours a month or more, I realize that many of them only come once a month or every other month. I hope that our team makes the most of that time together to foster the kids’ faith.

I will avoid utilizing the term "best practices" as there is a silent "should" in that terminology that can lead to frustration/disconnection. One way we've been trying to encourage parents is to just start having conversations with them. To pick up on something said during church and encourage them to continue the conversation with their child after church. My hope is to be a beacon of encouragement. And when I don't have the necessary knowledge, to point them to someone more qualified than me. I am teaching the leaders to do the same. Thank you so much for your questions. I am thankful for the opportunity to share my humble thoughts with you.

Lastly, since taking on this role, I've sought ways to incorporate more of the Bible into our activities and lessons. During Large Group, I encourage the kids to read their Bibles because Jesus is so much cooler than anything we can do in an hour of church. This series through the Bible has been fantastic for getting the kids interested in the Bible.
In reply to Audrey Morris

Re: Week 1

by Alex Nagy -
Audrey, YESSS!!!! I love what you said about understanding the culture and the time which the bible was written! Last year I bought a study bible that gives a breakdown before each book and section of the bible, explaining who wrote it, why they wrote it (and to whom) and giving context to the area and culture of that time period. I've found it so helpful and fascinating to seen the bible text with that added context.

You make a great point about spiritual formation and how important that is. We had an older lady this past weekend who asked one of our pastors how to pray because they didn't know how. I wonder how many of our kids and students feel the same way. I think sometimes I forget how important the basics are because I came to faith at such a young age and grew up in the church. I almost forget that not everyone has the same experience I do. Thank you for that reminder and communicating it the way you did.
In reply to Alex Nagy

Re: Week 1

by Audrey Morris -
The greatest thing about working in Kids ministry is that it impacts the entire family! Last weekend we had a leader pass out Bibles to a Mom who was sharing that she loved her kiddos excitement for church, but was new to Christianity and didn't know how to answer any questions. It was such a sweet moment. We are constantly reminded that people have unique backgrounds and many are just now coming to the church for the first time or coming to embrace their own faith in Jesus.
In reply to Audrey Morris

Re: Week 1

by Joe Amini -
Audrey, thank you for sharing a bit about yourself, love it. I am interested as you have discovered Bible dictionaries what changed for you? For the longest time, I felt like people couldn't have disagreements with interpretations of the text and remain kind to each other. It felt to me it was more important for folks to be right then to be loving. Over the last five years, I have started to experience people genuinely interested in each other and different points of view. Thank you for sharing your today.
In reply to Joe Amini

Re: Week 1

by Audrey Morris -
Joe, The Bible dictionaries satisfy my nerd nature. My background in language leads me to often recognize that what is said may be a variation of meaning based on the speaker/signer. Growing up I was that kid who read the dictionary and encyclopedias for fun. Communication is universal but how the act of communication is unique in time, space, and community. I love that about language.